Door-transom assembly and method of manufacture



Dec. 23,

1969 F. R. ASHBY ET AL 3,484,994

DOOR-TRANSOM ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF' MANUFACTURE Filed July 22) 1958 FIG. l. 5+

BY Y LEONARD A. ROPELLA ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 49--501 3 Claims j ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A doorway construction in which there is a doorway fitted with a door for passage therethrough, and a transom supported above the door. The transom is constructed for simple and quick installation without need for special tools. The transom is held in place generally and preferably by two fixed dowels engaging holes in one edge and extending into socket holes in the door jamb, and spring pressed dowel members seated in the opposite edge of the transom to snap into socket holes in the other door jamb as the transom is swung into place. The door and transom can be cut from a single piece of material to match graining, and a ship lap joint between them obsecures the joint and resists fire breakthrough thereat.

This invention relates to improvements in doorway construction and door and transoms forming parts thereof. The doorway construction comprises a doorway tted with a door for passage therethrough, and a transom supported above the door, The transom is constructed for simple and quick installation without need for special tools. The transom is held in place generally and preferably by two xed dowels engaging holes in one edge and extending into socket holes in the door jamb, and spring pressed dowel members seated in the opposite edge of the transom to snap into socket holes in the other door jamb as the transom is swung into place.

The door and transom can be cut from a single piece of material to match graining, and a ship lap joint between them obscures the joint and resists iire breakthrough thereat.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and irnproved doorway construction, in which there is a doorway framework tted to receive a door for permitting passage therethrough, and a transom supported above the door, the transom being constructed and arranged for being quickly and easily emplaced by the carpenter installing the door, without need for special tools or equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved doorway and transom construction, in which the upper portion of the doorway includes a transom member which is installed in the space above the door, there being at least two spring biased dowel members for fastening the transom member in position, and also generally and preferably two xed dowel members for ,completing the fastening of the transom member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved doorway and transom construction, which is employed to close a doorway of substantial height, without installing a door of height equal to the opening, so that the door itself does not have the extra weight which takes manpower for handling, additional hinges and hardware to carry it, and also avoids possible warpage due to the longer length where the door itself is used without `the transom.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a ICC novel and improved doorway and transom construction, in which both the door and the transom are made of re retarding materials, and may be out from the same piece of door material so that the door and transom surfaces match each other, and when the door is closed, the impressionis given that the door and transom are fabricated vin one piece.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved doorway, door and transom construction, in which the transverse rail which is normally set into the doorway below the transom is eliminated. Furthermore the top surface edge of the door is formed with a rib and recess and the lower edge of the transom member is formed with a complementary rib and recess to extend into and match with the other, so as to provide a ship-lap joint which gives the appearance of a continuous surface of the door and transom, since no light passes through the ship lap joint.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved doorway, door and transom construction in which the door and transom can be made by mass production methods at low cost by relatively unskilled labor, and wherein the door and transom may be installed in any regular architectural doorway of suitable height without need for structural alteration of the doorway aside `fr-om accommodation for the dowel fastening members holding the transom in place.

The above and other advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a doorway, door and transom according to the invention, the door being closed.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view taken substantially on plane 2--2 of FIGURE 1, and showing the door and transom apart from the doorway frame.

FIGURE 3 is a-n elevational fragmentary View of an upper left corner portion of the doorway frame and transom, the view being partly sectioned to show the internal construction.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view.

In connection with the installation of architectural elements, such as door frames, doors, and the like, various problems have arisen which it is the: objective of the present invention to solve. Thus, where the door frame is of substantial height, a door set into the doorway openfr ing would be of considerable height itself, and hence quite heavy and hard to transport and install. Further, it would require additional hardware in the form of hinges and the like, to accommodate the added height and weight, and would be subject to objectionable unsightly warpage, wearing out of the hinges, and distortion of the door frame. In the past, resort has been had to the installation of a transom, the door height being shortened accordingly. However, such transoms did not match the door itself, and gave a cluttered-up appearance to the doorway. The present invention provides a combination of door and transom with an absolute match of the door and transom, and permits the accommodation of the combination to a doorway of considerable height. In addition, according to one form of the invention, both the door and transom can be cut from a single sheet'of plywood, lumber, hardboard, particle board, or fire-resistant combined plywood or wood faces and reproof internal or core construction to suit not only architectural decorative standards of a continum from floor to the top of the door frame, but also to provide a door and transom and frame approved by Underwriters Laboratories under their own strict tire-retarding standards.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention and the best means for carrying it out, reference may be had to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown, there is a doorway frame 10, with top rail 12 extending across the upper ends of the upright side posts 14 and 16 of the door jamb. The frame 10 may be made of sheet metal such as iron or steel or of flreproof or untreated wood, and the top rail 12 may be either welded to the uprights 14 and 16 at the angular junctions 18 and 20, or formed integral therewith, and notched out and bent to form the junctions in any well known manner. At their bottom ends the uprights may be interconnected by a thin sill 22 of similar metal, or left without the sill if desired, depending upon the architectural decorative scheme.

In order to form a closure for the doorway frame opening 24, a door 26 having a decorative face 26a and a -fireproof core 26b is set into the lower portion of the opening 24, and supported by hinges 28 on the side edge 30, or by vertically disposed pivot hinges, extending into the sill or floor and upwardly into a pivot bracket, depending upon the architectural design desired. The upper edge 32 of the door 26 is grooved out at 34, as seen also in FIGURE 2, to receive a matching complementary rib 36 formed in the lower edge of the transom member 38.

The door is preferably of the type disclosed in Hartman and Hoffmann, U.S. Patent No. 3,196,494, and Craig, U.S. Patent No. 3,383,274, both assigned to the assignee of the present application, i.e., U.S. Plywood- Champion Paper Inc. Note attached A.I.A. File No. 19E-1, February 1963 (Exhibit A), and U.S. Plywoods Technical Bulletin-Transom Panel Installation, April 1968 (Exhibit B).

The transom member 38 has its bottom edge 40 overlying the rib portion 32 of the door, as seen in FIGURE 2, thus providing a ship-lap type of `joint with the vertical step sectors tightly abutting, the ovelap preventing passage of light, fire or smoke therethrough, and giving the appearance of a continuous closure from the oor to the top of the transom. In order to emplace the transom 38, a pair of immovable dowels 42 are inserted into holes 44 in the transoms left edge margin as seen in FIGURE l, and their projecting ends are inserted into complementary socket holes 48 bored into the doorway jamb upright 14. To complete the installation of the transom, a pair of spring biased extension ends 54 yare snapped into holes 56 bored into the related door jamb upright such as 16.

transom can be thus swung into position using the edge 46 with its fixed dowels as the fulcrum. However, where this is not possible or convenient, then the fixed dowels may be replaced by two or the same type spring biased dowel members 50.

With all four (or more if desired) such snap type dowels 50 in the transom, it is possible to either insert the transom in an upright position and emplace it in a direction perpendicular to the face of the door 26. On the other hand, it is also possible to elevate or slide the transom substantially in a vertical direction and snap it into installed position with its snap dowels engaged in their respective four door jamb holes. This is important where the ceiling is below the top of the transom as mentioned later. When the fixed dowels 42 are used, it is easy to remove the transom by merely inserting a thin saw between the transom and jamb and cutting them. Similarly the spring loaded plungers may be cut.

From the foregoing, it is seen, that it allows a continuous match of face veneer to considerable height, such as eleven feet high or higher, with only a thin unnoticeable line between the door and transom. This allows the installation of a fire door and transom, of wood composite or metal, in a door frame, without the need for the usual yfixed horizontal bar between the door and transom.

The door and transom can initially be made in one piece, and of suitable fire resistant laminated construction. Then the door and transom can be cut apart, and the ship-lap 32, 34, and 36 seen in FIGURE 2, formed with a shaper or otherwise. The ship-lap joint is of aesthetic interest to architects and builders, and will resist burn-through at this point, in the conduct of the fire door test.

This construction avoids use of visible attachment methods, such as long screws, threaded bolts, etc., and is completely invisible. Cutting through the pins enables easy removal of the transom. IFurther, it allows a transom to be slid up and installed in a frame that extends above a dropped or hung ceiling. In other words, the transom can be easily installed after the hung ceiling is finished.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in specific terms, it is understood that this is by way of example only, and that various changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. For example, instead of fixed or spring loaded dowels, the transom could be provided with spring loaded round balls which would be forced into recesses in the jamb or vice versa. In this construction the transom could be easily pushed out with little effort.

The embodiments of the invention in which an eX- clusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Doorway construction which comprises in combination a transom and a door, said transom having a rst side and a second side spaced from each other for installation in a doorway having a rst jamb and a second jamb, said sides disposed in close proximity to the related lirst and second jambs of said doorway, rst fastening means carried by said second side of said transom and constructed and arranged for engaging said related second jamb, said transom being further characterized by having a top edge and bottom edge, said top edge being disposed in close proximity to the upper portion of said doorway, and said bottom edge being disposed in close proximity to the top edge of said door, said transom being further characterized wherein said first side has a plurality of bores formed therein, dowel rods inserted in said bores with their outer end portions protruding therefrom and engageable with said first jamb of s aid doorway, and wherein said side of said transom has second bores formed therein, and wherein said second fastening means comprises spring biased second dowel members seated in said second bores, with retractable extension portions of said second dowel members protruding from said second bores and engageable with said second jamb of said doorway, and wherein said first and second jambs have socket bores formed therein and wherein said first fastening means are engageable in said related socket bores, and wherein said retractable extension portions of said second dowel members are engageable in said related socket bores in said second jambs whereby said transom is installed by first engaging said first fastening means dowels in the related door jamb socket bores, and swinging said transom into snapping engagement with said second spring pressed dowel members entering into said socket bores in said second jamb, and wherein said door means are hingedly engageable below said transom with one of said door jambs for closing said doorway, said door means comprising a top edge marginal portion, and ship-lap jointing means carried jointly by said top edge marginal portion of said door means and a bottom edge of said transom whereby said door means and transom means overlap each other to obscure the joint space therebetween and obturate fire passage therebetween.

2. The construction of claim 1 and wherein said transom means and door means are constructed from a single piece of door material, said transom being cut therefrom.

3. The construction of claim 2 wherein said transom means and door means are formed of an interior filler section of freproof material, and outer layers of sheet material covering said filler section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 297,528 4/1884 Morris 312-204 XR 1,950,401 3/ 1934 Fixter 49-401 6 2,267,977 12/ 1941 Hunt 49-465 XR 3,218,678 11/ 1965 Russell 49-504 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 423,177 4/1967 Switzerland.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. l49---465 

